Stupid People/Smart People

I was thinking today. Surprising, I know. What about? Well, about politics. And people. In politics, I think there’s only two real types of people – people who believe strongly in what they believe and are actually able to explain their beliefs, whatever those beliefs may be, and idiots.

But wait! If you’ve read this blog in the past you’ll notice that I’m pretty conservative, with some libertarian stuff in there too. What I’m saying is that none of that matters in this situation. None of it. Political parties are useless, specific ideologies are just as useless too. I’m in college, and therefore I’m being exposed to a lot of semi-intelligent people with many different backgrounds. A lot of these people (OK, every single person out there) has opinions that greatly differ from mine. But that’s fine.

Why? Well, they thought about what they believe in, they’re informed on the topics, they have their reasons, and they actually stick to their opinions. They’re thinking for themselves, to a degree. And, whether they’re further right than me or so far left that I need a telescope just to see them, I respect their opinions.

Here’s what I don’t like – moderates, in general, and people who blindly follow their political party. Why? That’s too easy. That’s not their opinion, it’s what they’re told to believe. And my problem with moderates is that they basically have no political opinions, in general. For example, last election there was still an incredibly large portion of America that didn’t know who they were going to vote for last minute. That appalls me; two radically different candidates, and they didn’t have the political beliefs needed to pick a side months ago.

There are exceptions, however. Some of the most intelligent people out there can be moderates or people that directly follow their party. Generally these people can have intelligent conversations on politics. My Current Issues teacher last year was a moderate/liberal, but he is probably one of the smartest people on politics I know. But yeah, basically that’s all I want. Intelligent conversation. It’s sad that there’s people out there that can’t provide that in reference to their vote.